Open the last writing project you worked on. Post the tenth paragraph from the last chapter you worked on. If it doesn't have chapters, go from the top or the bottom, your choice. If it doesn't have... more

The last chapter I was working on was refining the prologue, and incidentally enough, the tenth paragraph is the last one, so here you go. Meanwhile, the storm had cleared away, leaving a pale and... more

The mask had no eye-holes. That was impossible, though. How could the woman be looking at her without eye-holes in her mask? She blinked; oh, yes, the eye-holes were there. They simply had tiny veils ... more

A young woman spun in a circle, arms flung out to her sides, head tipped back to feel the rain on her face, long braid trailing in her wake. She laughed; the drops weren’t cold, stinging water, but... more

"The unknown warrior leapt into the air, flipping over a strike from the middle Ringwraith; in the process, they twisted and slashed at the nearest foe, knocking the thing back. Even in the middle of ... more

I'm not sure you can do that to a Ringwraith. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they really have physical bodies anymore? It's just the cloaks and hoods that give them shape? If... more

You are correct that the cloaks and hoods give them shape. Gandalf describes it as "Giving shape to their shapelessness." Which is a good explanation for why they fear fire. Destroy the cloaks and... more

Violet snickered and started combing his back. “Your fur’s just fine the way it is. Now hold still, I found a knot.” She sprayed it with the conditioner and pulled; the comb slid through with no... more

Trent’s back arched and he coughed again, his whole body twisting with release and pain. Again and again he felt the rush come, break over him like waves or a collapsing dune. His face screwed up in... more

First because it was rude of me. Second because wow, that is so cool! I have no idea what is actually going on, because I'm pretty sure this guy has silicosis from all the dust and I am quite sure no ... more

Let's do it, I think. So I open up the latest chapter of my current project and count down ten paragraphs and what do I get but: “What’s your name? What are you doing here?” This is probably the... more

Do you discuss what Tolkien actually means when he says 'magic'? There's some very telling quotes in the Lothlorien chapters, starting with this from Galadriel: "[The Mirror] is what your folk would... more

The scope of the essay I was writing was bigger than that, so I touched on it only briefly. You make some good points, but I would like to add an additional observation: "magic" in The Lord of the... more

It seems to me that Tolkien has a very West African attitude towards magic, wherein magic is created by making things rather than saying words. So the answer to your obviously-rhetorical question... more

Pippin definitely considers the cloaks of Lorien magic; just as definitely, the elves of that wood don't. So the question 'are they magic' has a very Elvish answer - 'both yes and no'. To the elves,... more

...is that, for a short story with no chapters, 10 paragraphs in is still pretty much setting the scene: " Elentur weaved his way through the crowd on the bridge, his friend keeping close behind him. ... more

So, this hits the tone to be a type of creation myth, and that seems to have been the aim. The Kraken certainly seems to be of the malevolent archetype for the world. I was surprised he survived. I... more

While it follows Earth's natural history much more accurately than most such legends do, the elements of deities and chthonic monsters doing battle and changing the course of history worldwide are... more

"'Correct. The drainage of energy into Thirty Hs occurs at regular intervals. Since no spies or action agents have returned from the story, we have no evidence pointing to the cause.'" That's a... more

Currently, my only WIP is updating the Plort wiki, so here is the last edit that actually added a paragraph rather than just changed a few words: Since Cassie lost her Barony due to being absent too... more

I understood a few of those! It's an improvement over my referemce getting skills a few months ago. The second paragraph paints a good picture even if I didn't catch a couple of words. What are... more

The Kattekri-tri is a river referencing a "category tree". The second paragraph is actually from Los Taelis , a military center referencing Neshomeh's collection of "Lost Tales". Part of the current... more

These are all from my original story. Here's the first paragraph: Rosie sighed as she stared at the beginnings of her English homework. Miss Lewis had set her class a thousand-word essay on “Why... more

The first one makes me wonder what kind of school this person goes to. It is an oddly specific thing to assign, but I can come up several scenarios for it. The second one definitely hits the weird... more

For the first one, magic does actually exist, not that either Rosie or her teacher know at the time. That particular piece of homework won’t be turned in, because the plot gets in the way. And for... more

The chaplain has been frozen in glassbrick. Long and transparent and clear as air. The medbay (actually just an unused storeroom in the hold) lights are icy bright and gleam off it in lines. Though... more

It is a pretty weird scenario even in this paragraph. The medbay tbat is a storage room, the details of the lines gleaming, and the small chaplain trapped within, the cracks growing are all very... more

She has fifty eyes but keeps all but two of them inside her mouth. The chaplain is a chaplain of The Church of Saint Chromatophore, from the town of St Chromatophore, both of which don't exist, and... more

I'm always trying to write some epic fantasy thing or another, and they usually just fizzle out, so I doubt the thing this is from will go anywhere, but it's the tenth paragraph from the last thing... more

So, the characters sound like they may be a bit of scoundrels or con men with the talk of a bug score that could set them up for life, but the last line turns it around to pretty funny. Not that I... more

Centuries, and he still had difficulty getting the measure of his own feelings. Much less analyzing and choosing how to act. But feelings could come later. Right now, he need only be an instructor.... more

The character being spoken about did survive. That line was Nathan Wuornos speaking to the antagonist of the story. It's from a Haven AU fanfic. The fourth in a series (pretty far down the rabbit... more

Good guess, I suppose. Though I also thought it might've been Nathan talking to Duke, so only half-right. {= ) I'm gonna have to check this out at some point. I stopped watching Haven (don't recall... more

The agent’s mild curiosity had turned into severe confusion. “You do realize no government has jurisdiction here, right? There’s no one who can tax goods.” Bradbury took this curve-ball and, to mix a ... more

From an original story which is definitely my most recent bit of fiction writing: Jake rolled his eyes. “We had to go to my cousin’s, alright? It wasn’t anything like this. There was, like, a meal... more

So I'm guessing a wedding is being referenced in the first selection, but the one the characters are currently dealing with is odd or bad in some way. I liked the description of the cousin's. The... more

It's actually an engagement party. The current one is...odd would be the right term: it's based on someone's idea of an engagement party, and thus doesn't really resemble reality. Glad you (and... more

Plato’s Cave describes a group of individuals who’s entire world is nothing but an alit cave wall and the shadows that play on it. What they don’t know (until one does) that behind them is a group of ... more

The child listens closely, and takes her words to heart. Just before his parents return, he hides the rock and keeps it safe. This, he won’t brag to his friends about; it is his secret. He knows that ... more

Peregrin, meanwhile, was chasing down the pen he had dropped when the console had startled him. “You could pack the book,” he suggested. “You may have time to read on the mission.” (( Who knows when... more

As the party moved forward, Kur'nak could tell that many were shaken by the scene. He didn't realize that he was shaken until he felt a small hand gripping his own. He looked down to see that Luxury, ... more

Being that this story takes place almost entirely during the Invasion, I wanted to make sure that it had appropriate levels of Pathos. One way to do that is to take a usually comedic character and... more

Ankur Ket arrived from the inner reaches of his garden without fanfare, but no Astartes could help but draw attention to himself with his sheer presence. He stepped into position in the focal point... more

You're actually doing the 40k fic! *Is excited* ...*Very excited.* Of course, I still need to do my writing. But I'm in a car heading toward Pittsburgh. Forgive me. Also need to work on badfic games... more

Didn't I say I was? I couldn't leave poor Ket hanging out there as a hypothetical figment. {= ) Too many projects indeed. I thought about dropping quotes from my Skyrim fic and my Badfic Games piece, ... more

Ix yelped and fell off the sofa, landing with a whump . She tripped over her skirts as she stood, then hiked them up as she hurried to silence the console. Her face contorted. “We were supposed to... more

... That wasn't intended as a joke, but since my comment was going to be that it took me a second to get "Charlus," until I remembered that duh, everyone is male in ABO cuz girls have cooties or... more

On AO3 there are about 600 f/f alpha/omega fics, but I think the exclusion criteria could definitely be stricter. After seeing a few tags I had not imagined existed, though I suppose I should have... more

...the first passage picks up right after her wedding, so it kinda jars horribly when compared to the Not Okay relationships you find in ABO. I haven’t found any all-female ABO before, but GMA might... more